Lavender Scented Candles
by fifthcru5ader and Daybreak
Summary: Ballad gets up early every morning on the sixth of October... and it's up to Symphony to find out why.


It was six o'clock in the morning on the sixth of October.

Inside a pretty regular Canterlotean household, Symphony was on her front, sprawled across a messy bed.

Symphony was a yellow pony with a purple mane who played the violin. At that moment, all that she was wearing was a pair of boxers emblazoned with several fish motifs.

She snored blissfully as she slumbered, completely unaware that next to her, the bed was empty.

Symphony's wife Ballad would usually have been occupying that space, but not so on that morning.

Symphony sniffed in her sleep as a smell wafted up to the bedroom. A goofy smile spread across her face as she mumbled,

"Hmmm… lavender…" and reached over to the other side of the bed in order to wrap her hoof around Ballad, but found an empty space. She allowed a frustrated grunt to escape her muzzle as her eyes slowly opened.

"Ballad…?" Symphony raised her head, her usually-tidy mane framing her face like a wild bush.

She groaned as she heaved herself out of bed, a quick glance at the bedside alarm clock telling her that it was five minutes past six in the morning.

She made her way to the stairs and climbed down them carefully. She came to the kitchen doorway to find Ballad studying a piece of paper in her hooves, lavender scented candles occupying the table in front of her. She was crying.

"Ballad? What's wrong? Why are you up so early?" Symphony questioned tiredly. Ballad turned her head, her eyes puffy and bloodshot.

"I'm sorry, Symph…" she choked. "did I wake you up?"

"No, you didn't," Symphony reassured her love. "it was the fact that you weren't in bed that worried me."

Ballad sniffed and gazed down at the paper, which appeared to be a photograph.

"What's that?" Symphony gently asked, gesturing towards the photo.

Ballad shakily turned the photo and raised it so that Symphony could see it. It was a foal. A yellow colt with a tufty dark grey mane and a cute gummy grin on his face.

"He was my brother," Ballad told Symphony, whose eyes widened.

"You never told me you had another sibling," she shook her head once the realisation dawned on her: "you said he WAS your brother! Is he…?"

Ballad sniffed and nodded, breaking down into sobs as Symphony rushed forward and enveloped her wife in her hooves, letting Ballad lean her head on her chest.

"I'm here, Ballad," soothed the yellow violinist. "you can tell me anything."

Ballad began her story,

"My family had just moved to Ponyville, and my mother had a baby colt – little Spinet here – about a month after we arrived. I loved the bones of him, Symph. I really did." (At this, Ballad began to sob again, and Symphony kissed her forehead comfortingly before Ballad regained her composure) "He was cute, funny, playful – a normal foal, really. But he was my special little brother. I always helped out whenever I could – feeding, baths, changing, stories. Just like Concerto did with you.

There was nothing I loved more than talking him out for walks in his pram. It gave us both fresh air, and he loved it. Usually, I'd walk him around the outskirts of Ponyville, next to the dirt track.

I was walking him there when— when it happened.

I was kinda distracted, I must admit, and we were beginning to cross the track when this rumble and cloud of dust came at us.

It was some kind of a crazy mix of train and carriage, and it was packed with cider-making equipment and two unicorn stallions – twins, I think – were driving it, not really paying attention to their surroundings.

They passed, quick as lightning. The carriage had barely brushed past me – I'd stopped stock still, I didn't know what to do. I was just thinking how close to death I'd come, when I heard a sick, strangled cry."

Ballad shivered and cried as Symphony held her, whispering to herself,

"Oh gods…"

Ballad took a few minutes to pull herself together.

"I looked in front of me and I saw.. splintered wood. Blood-soaked. A crushed foal, blood spraying from him like a sick fountain. Intestines spread out. All crushed. He was still alive. But he just gave one last, gasping breath before he choked to death on his own blood."

Ballad gripped Symphony tighter, her teeth clenching.

"The fucking Flim Flam Brothers. They killed him. But naturally, since they were long gone, everypony would think that I'd murdured him.

I ran away -it's all I could have done – I ran to the Everfree Forest.

I got so lost. I didn't care, though. I just wanted to die. I eventually came across a hut. Outside it was a zebra. She caught sight of me, and led me inside to warm up. She spoke in rhyme in a weird sort of way, and her hut was strange, but she was a really nice zebra, even though most ponies are terribly racist about them.

She let me stay for a few days… until one day, in came Harpo! He had been searching for me for days! I told him everything… but he didn't blame me. He blamed the Flim Flam brothers… just as I do. He's never touched a drop of cider. He took me home and told my mother and father why Spinet wasn't there. They seemed calm and sent Harpo out of the room, but…

Symph, d'you remember that whip scar I showed you the day you met my mother?"

"Yes, I remember."

"My father… he did it. He called me a murderer… that's why my mother hates me so much!"

Ballad broke down in tears again, clutching Symphony, who held back her own tears and stroked Ballad's mane.

"It's not your fault… it wasn't your fault at all… now stop it Ballad, you know how much I hate to see you crying. It sets me off too…" Symphony pulled away and cupped Ballad's face in her hooves. "No matter what.. I will always love you. More than life itself."

Symphony gazed down at Ballad who looked up at her tearfully and helplessly, before leaning forward and kissing her on the lips.

"I love you too, Symph." Ballad murmured. The two ponies hugged each other and stayed like that for some minutes as the lavender scented candles burned away.


End file.
